Fixing You
by ChasingSunsets
Summary: Edward is distraught over breaking up with 'the one'. When he meets Bella, will it help him to get on with his life, or is he just further in than ever? E/B.
1. Chapter 1

**Welcome!**

**First fanfic, so be gentle.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight, or any of it's characters.**

**...Enjoy!**

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**EPOV**

I sighed as I walked in to the coffee shop. There was a line, as usual, and it was raining inside, but these facts didn't really register in my mind. There was nothing except _her _in my mind these days.

_Her._ Tanya.

She was the love of my life. I was sure, that this was it. That thing they all talk about. The one, the soul mate, the missing piece. That's what she was to me. We were meant to get married and have children and grow old together. I had planned my whole life around her, ready to follow her anywhere she wanted to go. I was like a puppet, and she was the puppeteer.

And then she said 'no strings attached'. Down fell the puppet.

I was stupid, and I should have none better. Tanya didn't date, and she didn't get emotional involved. I knew this, but I was still stupid enough to fall for her. Still stupid enough to think that maybe she might have fallen for me, that she might have changed for me. I was so, so stupid.

The line moved forward a few inches. It was full of cranky people impatiently waiting for their morning caffeine jolt, so no one really noticed me or my mopping. My eyes scanned the people. The girl at the front of the line had the same strawberry blonde hair as Tanya, although I doubt it was natural as hers. The girl two people in front of me was wearing a pair of shoes that Tanya had. The person behind me had the same colour eyes.

_Stop_. I told myself. I had to stop doing this. Comparing every woman I see to _her_. Seeking out similarities with every girl I found mildly attractive. I had to stop, before I drove myself crazy. Despite how similar they were, they never, ever matched up.

The queue ambled forward again, and now I was only a few people away. The man behind the counter, Mike, looked almost as tired as I felt. I wonder if he had had his heart broken, but then I shook it off.

"Hi Mike," I mumbled as I reached the front of the line.

"Edward," he greeted. "The usual?"

"Yes, please," I answered. I stepped to the side to allow the girl with Tanya's eyes order while I waited for my drink.

Once she had placed her order, she turned to me, a slightly timid smile on her face. I suppose she was pretty, with blonde curly hair that framed her face. She was shorter than me, reaching only to my shoulder. But then I looked in to her eyes, and all I could see was Tanya. Tanya looking at me as she asked if I wanted to come inside. Tanya looking at me as her face got closer to mine. Tanya. Tanya. Tanya.

"Hello," the girl said, oblivious to my inner turmoil. She had a bright, cheery voice. The kind that you associate with cheerleaders or people trying to persuade you to join a cult. I nodded in acknowledgement of her.

"Horrible weather today, isn't it?" she continued.

I glanced out of the window, seeing the rain was still pounding down, hitting the pavement with a fury that suggested it had done it some wrong.

"Yeah, awful."

"I hope this clears up soon. I'm meant to be doing a sponsored run tomorrow!" She smiled up at me, batting her eyelids. I just nodded.

"It's with my yoga class," she continued, with a cheery fake laugh. She was probably trying to ease the awkwardness of the conversation.

"Here's your drink, Edward," Mike interrupted, handing my latte across the counter.

"Thanks," I said, taking it. "It was nice to meet you..." I trailed off.

"Mandy," she supplied. "It was nice to meet you too, Edward. Perhaps we-"

I didn't hear what it was that we could possible do though, as I turned away from her and the counter, searching the little cafe for an empty table. I found one in the far corner of the room and quickly headed towards it. I slid in to the slightly too oversized chair, and took a gulp of my slightly too hot coffee. It burnt my throat, but I took another gulp anyway. There was a newspaper on the table. I picked it up, flicking through the pages without taking much in. I turned to the jobs section.

"Hello," a voice said above me. "Is this seat taken?"

At first I thought it was Mandy, come back to attempt conversation, but the voice was all wrong. This was a quiet voice, warm but not annoyingly preppy. I looked up to this stranger. She was young, around twenty. My eyes immediately searched for pieces of Tanya in her face, but they came up blank. She had dark brown curls, framing a heart shaped face. Her skin was pale, unlike Tanya's constant tan that so many other women envied, but the paleness suited her. She had big brown eyes that were slightly apprehensive. When I met her gaze, she looked away.

"It's just that, well, there's not many seats left, but if, um, you don't want me to..." She blushed, her hands tightening around the cup that she held in both hands in front of her. I realised I hadn't answered her.

"Sure," I heard myself say. "Sit down." I didn't want company. I wanted to keep to myself and wallow in misery, but it would have been rude to turn her away. She looked so childlike and vulnerable, I felt compelled to let her sit down.

"Thank you," she said, settling clumsily in to the chair opposite. "I'm Bella, by the way."

"Edward," I answered. She blushed again when our eyes met. It looked like petals on snow.

She took a sip of her coffee, and I looked back down at my newspaper, unsure what to do. _Assistant buyer needed._ She smelled like strawberries. _Manager at La Bella Italia Restaurant position available. _I wonder if it was her shampoo? _Part time work available at Family Foods. _Maybe that was just her natural smell?

This was pointless. I couldn't concentrate on the job listings while she was sitting there. It was rude to ignore her. I put the newspaper down and picked up my coffee mug. She was sitting in the chair, her legs curled up underneath her, and her hands still wrapped around her coffee mug. Her eyes were unfocused, staring through the window, but I had a feeling she wasn't seeing the rain, or the hurrying people.

"I'm sorry, what did you say your name was?" I asked, although I knew perfectly well it was Bella. _Bella_. I just wanted her to talk to me.

"Bella," she said softly, so it sounded like a sigh from her lips. She turned her eyes to mine again, a suggestion of a smile on her face. "My name's Bella."

"Hi, Bella," I said. "So..." I was such an idiot. Why start a conversation when I had no topic in mind? I was severely lacking in social skills.

"So..." she echoed, her smile becoming more pronounced.

I searched for a conversation topic, but was coming up blank. "Horrible weather today isn't it?" I cringed internally. I was talking about the weather. I was as bad as Mandy.

"I guess," she answered, looking amused. "I don't mind the rain, actually."

"Oh," I answered. How do you answer that? I chose to change the topic. "Do you have any plans for today?"

"Just going out with a few friends. They're dragging me shopping." She gave a kind of grimace. Apparently, she didn't like shopping. "How about you?"

Her head was tilted slightly to the side, regarding me with those large brown eyes. She took another sip of coffee as she waited for my answer. "I've got an appointment to go and see an apartment."

"You're moving? How cool!" She smiled warmly. "Moving in with the girlfriend?"

I felt my heart sink, and it obviously showed, because those large brown eyes showed concern. I took a deep breath as a series of images flipped through my mind: Tanya and I, hand in hand as we walked around empty rooms; helping each other carry boxes to our new apartment; cuddling on the sofa surrounded by our stuff. They were so clear in my mind, so real. It was like a kind of homesickness for a place I'd never been.

"Are you ok? Did I say something wrong? I'm sorry, I didn't mean to..." Bella was biting her lip, leaning towards me with one hand hovering, as if wanting to place it on my arm, but unsure if she should.

"It's o-ok," I stuttered. "I'm just – It's fine."

"I'm sorry," she repeated. She looked close to tears.

"Its fine," I said more forcefully.

"Do you want to talk about it?" she asked, moving to hold her cup in both hands again.

"I – Not really." It was too raw, too painful to talk about yet. "But no, I'm not moving in with a girlfriend."

"Where about are you looking at?" she asked. She looked apprehensive again, like when she first asked to sit down. Probably scared I would freak out again. But no, I could keep my cool.

"Today, I've got an appointment at Kingston's. Over by the park."

"It's nice over there," she commented. "I looked around, but they were a bit out of my price range." She blushed again, strawberries and cream. "I'm staying with one of my friends at the moment."

"Are you looking for a place?" I asked.

"I've been told I can stay as long as I like," she informed me. "But I think pretty soon there's going to be another someone moving in." She rolled her eyes.

"What do you mean?"

"Alice and her boyfriend are getting pretty serious."

I nodded, and took a sip of my now cold coffee. She noticed.

"Do you want a refill?" she asked. Then she blushed. "I'm sorry - you probably want to go. Don't feel the need to stay for me." She bit her lip again, chewing on it nervously.

"I'd love a refill, thanks." I dug out some change from my pocket. "Here."

"My treat," she said, waving me off. "What will it be?"

"Latte, please."

"Sure." She stood up with the cups. "Be back in a few."

**BPOV**

I collected the cups from the table and walked back to the queue. It was less crowded now. Most people seemed to have left after their morning coffee fix. Usually I would be gone by this time but there was something about Edward that intrigued me.

I must admit, it was his looks that got my interest first. He was gorgeous, chiselled, with a strong jaw line. His hair was wild disarray but the most beautiful colour I had ever seen, a shiny copper mane. And when I got closer, his emerald eyes took my breath away. I'd always been a sucker for green eyes.

But then he looked so lost when I spotted him across the cafe. I was sure he was going to turn me away but he surprised me. Maybe he was just being polite. It was hardly polite to turn someone away from one of the only chairs left. And after all, he had started the conversation.

I felt a twist of guilt as I remember his face when I mentioned his girlfriend. If anyone knew what it was like to not want to talk about ex-romances, it was me. I'd felt that pain better than anyone. He had looked so broken; his eyes became empty as if he was somewhere else. I didn't want to see that on his face. I didn't want to see that on _anyone's _face.

"Hello, Bella, honey," Mike said as I came to the front of the short queue. "What can I get for you today, darling?"

Mike was such a creep. He had been trying to get a date with since he started, and didn't get the hint that I wasn't interested. He was persistent, to say the least.

"Can I get my usual and a latte, please?" I asked, cutting to the chase.

"Would you like my phone number with that?" he asked with a wink. I ignored him, surveying the customers as opposed to answering him. He sidled off to fill up the cups. Edward was looking my way curiously, his brow slightly furrowed. I gave him a small nervous wave, which he returned with an inclination of his head. _God, that man was confusing._ He didn't seem to show much emotion at all. Unless I counted despairing pain as an emotion, which I chose not to.

"Here you go, beautiful," Mike said. He held out his hand with the change, grazing mine for longer than was necessary. It made my skin crawl.

"Thanks," I said, quickly picking up the cups and turning around. Edward had turned away now and continued to look out the window until I sat down again.

"Back," I said, unnecessarily. He nodded, continuing to gaze out of the window. "So what time is your appointment?"

"Eleven," he said shortly. I glanced at the watch that was on his wrist. It was already twenty past ten.

"So you've got to go soon?" I asked, trying not to make it sound like I wanted him to stay. _Even though you do,_ a small voice in my head said.

"Yes," he responded.

"Is this the first apartment you've seen?"

"Third." Why was he being so short with me? Had something changed while I'd gotten the drinks? Clearly, if the lack of information I was now receiving was anything to go buy.

"Do you think this might be the one, then?" I prompted.

He started silently out of the window for a beat or two, before turning to me. His eyes were hard and I struggled to keep my gaze on those green, green eyes.

"I need to get going," he stated. He took a last gulp of his coffee and replaced it on the table. "Thank you for the coffee." Without another word he stood up and pulled a scarf around his neck. And then, with a nod in my direction, he walked towards the exit of the cafe and out in to the rain.

I sat for a few minutes, watching his figure retreat down the street until I lost sight of his copper hair in the crowd. I felt stupid sitting on my own. I drank down the last dregs of my coffee and left the cup on the table, along with the half drank latte, as I left the cafe.

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**And there we have the first chapter. **

**What did you think?**

**Question: If you saw Edward in a coffee shop, what would you say to him first?  
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	2. Chapter 2

**The second chapter is upon us.**

**I suck at updates when I've got no motivation. So reviews/likes/reads = reviews.**

**On with the story, then. **

**Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight, or any of it's characters.**

**...Enjoy!**

**EPOV**

What was I doing? Fuck, I'm so confused.

I was in love with Tanya. I am in love with Tanya. And I'm going to win her back. Sitting with girls I've only just met in coffee shops and letting them buy me drinks is not the way to win her back. I don't want to mess Bella around. I can't let her think she had any kind of chance. Because my life is Tanya, and will be Tanya. I just have to figure out how to win her back.

But who said Bella was attracted to me at all? Maybe she just had nowhere else to sit. I'm thinking too much in to this. She was just being nice, friendly. And I totally blew her off.

She must hate me. _Shit._

I thought briefly about going back and saying sorry, but I couldn't. She'd be getting tired of my mood swings already, and I'd only known her an hour or so. I was already pushing for time on my appointment too. I would have to apologise when I saw her again. _If I saw her again. _

I stumbled in to the Kingston buildings at 11:03. There was a man sitting behind a desk on the far side of the room. I approached him.

"Excuse me," I said, and he looked up. "I'm Mr. Cullen, I have an appointment to see apartment 2B?"

"Ah, yes. Leah is waiting for you. I'll just call her now." He took out a phone and punched a few keys. "Yes, he's here...Yes...I'll send him right up." He put the phone down and addressed me. "The lift is over there, its floor two; Leah will be waiting for you."

I headed towards the lift and selected the right button. I was pleased to see that the lift was clean, and didn't stink of piss like the last place I'd visited. It opened out to a nondescript hallway. Leah, I assumed, was stood at a door towards the end of the hallway.

"Mr Cullen?" she asked as I approached.

"Yes," I confirmed. "I came to see the apartment?"

She smiled. "Right this way." She stood back, leaving the door way clear. I stepped through it in front of her into a large open space. It was fairly nondescript, white walls and wood flooring with a hallway leading off to the left. I glanced around, checking the dimensions before walking across the floor, to check out the rest of the place.

The appointment was fairly short, and I was back at the place I was currently sharing with my brother, Emmett. We looked nothing alike, and acted nothing alike, but we got on fairly well. Well, when he wasn't being an insensitive prick.

"Eddie!" he greeted me as I walked, rain soaked, in to the apartment. I cringed. I hated that name. "Been out on a hot date?" He wiggled his eyebrows suggestively, oblivious to the way my heart had been shattered a mere two weeks before.

"No, Emmett," I sighed. "I've been out to look at that apartment over at Kingston's."

"That's right Eddie boy, you better move your ass out! I want to ask Rosie to move in." The news hadn't surprised me the first time he'd told me. They were perfect for each other. The way I though me and Tanya had been.

"So are you moving or what?"

I forced back a torrent of unwelcome images, all surrounding around me and Tanya. "I don't know."

"What's wrong with it?" he demanded.

I sighed again, rubbing my hand over my forehead to try and get rid of the headache that had come on. "I'm not sure I can afford it."

Emmett frowned. He was always uncomfortable talking about money, considering he had plenty, and therefore had no trouble with it. He was the star of his football team, which consequently led to a fat pay cheque. He never seemed sure of what to say when others had trouble.

"Bro, if you need anything..." he started awkwardly. "I could help you out, or Mom and Dad. You know they will."

"I'm fine," I said shortly. I'd finished mooching off my parents when I left home. "I can deal with it. I just need to get back on my feet."

"If you need a job, I can get you a place, you know that."

"I'm fine," I repeated. "I'll get a job."

He looked at me for a few moments with a mixture of concern, and an emotion that looked close to pity.

"I'm fine," I said for the third time.

"Ok." He headed towards his bedroom. "I've got to get to practice."

"No problem," I called as his bedroom door closed shut, leaving me to dwell in my own self pity.

**BPOV**

"Aliceeeee!" I called as I walked in the door. "I'm home!"

"Bellaaaaaa!" she called back. "I buzzed you in!" Her tinkling laugh came from her bedroom. "Speaking of which, where is your key?"

"Forgot it," I answered. I dropped my bag on the floor, sitting down in my space on the sofa. There were fashion magazines and catalogues stacked in the corner of the table with notes stuck out from them. I leaned forward to look at one that read 'Blue silk dress, £75'. Alice was nothing if not organised.

Just then, her bedroom door opened and she stepped out. She did a twirl, showing off the full view of her tight blank jeans and black tank. She's paired it with a pair of cute kitten heels.

"How do I look?" she asked.

"Great, as always. But why so dressed up?"

She crossed the room and dropped on to the sofa beside me. "Angela bailed."

"And...?"

"And I invited Jasper." She turned to me, her eyes wide. "I hope you don't mind?"

I grimaced at the idea of being the third wheel all afternoon, but nodded. Jasper was pretty cool, as far as guys went.

"Thank you Bella!" she squealed. "I'll buy you one of those frozen yogurts you like so much as a thank you."

"Deal," I said, sticking my hand out. She took it and we did our secret handshake on it.

"He should be here any..." The buzzer sounded. "...second." She stood and danced her way to the buzzer on the wall. "Hello? Yes, yes, come on up."

"Here's here," she added unnecessarily to me. We waited a few moments before the sound of footsteps sounded outside the door. "Are you going to get changed?"

"Should I?" I asked. She tipped her head to the side, surveying me through narrowed eyes.

"Probably. But there's no time. It's already past one."

I stood up, grumbling, but she ignored me. She was already flinging herself in to Jasper's arms and kissing him with a fierce intensity that would suggest it had been a hell of a lot longer than the day that they'd been apart.

It was four hours before I could finally get Alice away from the shops. She was ruthless. I was already carrying a pile of bags filled with clothes, and so was Jasper, leaving Alice free to pick up what seemed like every item of clothing within reach and demand that one of us tried it on.

Now, it was almost six o'clock, and she was still storming around looking for the perfect dress to wear to a work function. Even though every dress she had tried on so far looked fabulous, she insisted that the perfect one was still somewhere.

"Bella!" she called from inside the dressing rooms where she was currently standing. "Hand me the red one!"

I extracted a short red strapless dress from the pile beside me and passed it over the top of the changing room door. There was some fumbling inside, and she passed over the black dress she had just tried on.

"What was wrong with that one?" I asked.

"Too long. It made me look short."

"That's not difficult Al, you are short."

"Well you're not exactly a skyscraper!" she shouted back.

I heard Jasper chuckle behind me, but immediately stopped under my glare.

"Jasper, honey," Alice called. "Give Bella that blue dress to try on."

"Wait, wait. Why do I need a dress?" I complained. "I'm not going anywhere!"

"You never know," she said in a way of answer. The lock on the door slid across and revealed Alice dress in her short blood red dress. It fit her perfectly, of course, and clung to her in all the right places, puffing out slightly at the bottom.

"Isn't that a little short Ally?" Jasper said carefully, glancing towards the hemline that came halfway down her thighs.

"Nonsense." She gave a small pirouette in front of the mirror. "Right. This one."

"Finally!" Where was the chorus of angels singing Hallelujah?

"Go try on the dress Bella," Alice ordered, pointing towards the recently vacated dressing room. I sighed, taking the dress and stepping inside.

I had to admit, the dress was pretty and fit perfectly. It was a deep blue, going well with my pale skin, and had a trail of sequences across the top in a delicate way. Perfect. Apart from the fact that it was way too short.

"It's too short!" I called out.

"Let me see," the voice on the other side ordered. I slid the lock out and stepped out to let Alice examine it.

"What is it with you too and length today? God. It's great. We're buying it." She nodded decisively. "Doesn't she look good Jasper?"

Jasper looked unsure of how to answer, but was saved from answering by Alice's ongoing orders.

"Could you put these back please dear?" she asked the salesman, batting her eyes as she held out a pile of rejected dresses. He nodded warily, taking them from her and scuttling away.

"Let's go." No one argued, and we trooped to the desk to pay for the dresses. Jasper began piling items on to the counter while the clerk furiously began scanning.

A sudden dread grabbed me. "Alice," I hissed. "I've only got fifty on me."

She waved me off, handing her card over. Alice was spoilt, in the nicest way possible. Her parents had both inherited a lot of money, and her father was the head of a big business. So they were pretty rich. A lot rich, actually.

She'd always bought stuff for me and despite all the times she'd done it, I still wasn't used to be being bought expensive stuff. Like the pair of designer heels she'd bought me as a graduation present, or the car she persuaded her parents to buy me for my eighteenth birthday. Or the blue dress she bought me, just because.

I cringed at the total amount that came up on the screen, but Alice didn't bat an eyelid.

We walked out of the shop, laden with bags and out in to the main area which was crowded with people cramming in a few last minute items after work, before the shops shut.

We were pushing through the crowd when I saw a flash of copper in the corner of my eye. My head whipped round. Twice in a day? But it was gone. I couldn't see any sign of that copper brown hair.

Alice was studying me closely.

"I'll tell you when we get home." She nodded.

It took approximately seven minutes after we got home for Alice to ask me, which was just about time for her to say goodbye to Jasper and crack open a pot of Ben&Jerry's.

"So spill. What, or who, were you looking for?"

"It wasn't anything." I stated.

"So what nothing is enough to make you turn your head so fast that you could possibly give yourself whiplash?"

"I just thought I saw someone."

"Aha. Someone. Spill."

I sighed, digging in to the ice cream. "It was just someone I met at the coffee shop today. There were no empty tables so I sat down by him. We talked for a bit."

She squealed like a five year old who just found out that her best friend was asked about by their crush.

"This is perfect! What's his name?"

"Edward. And what's perfect?"

"Edward!" She lunged forward and grabbed my hand, turning it to look at the side. "It's right here that your soul mate will have a six letter name! It's on your marriage line." She let my hand drop. "This is so great!"

"Seriously? It says that?" I asked, examining my hand. "When did you learn palm reading?"

"Well...no not really I made it up," she admitted. "But still. This is progress."

I cringed internally at the reference, but tried to hide it by scooping more ice cream in to my mouth. "I doubt it. He ran out on me."

"What?"

"He left. Just walked out. Didn't finish his drink, even."

"Did he have to go somewhere or something?" she asked, confusion on her face. She ate some ice cream thoughtfully.

"I don't know." I scanned through our conversation in my head. "He had an apartment to view."

"He's moving?" she said, tilting her head to the side. "You could move in together!"

"Are you that keen to get rid of me?" I pouted.

Her eyes widened. "Oh, no, no! I just don't want you to be alone when me and Jasper move in..."

This confused me. "I though he was moving in here?"

She fidgeted nervously in her seat, the essence of someone in an awkward situation.

"I was gonna talk to you about this. But...don't get upset okay?" I nodded. "Me and Jazz talked, and his place...well it's bigger and closer to my work."

"So you're gonna move in there?" I clarified.

"I won't go if you don't want me to. Jazz has no problem waiting. I know you're fragile...so I can stay." Her eyes were wide and pleading, like a child trying desperately for a toy.

"I'm not fragile," I snapped, then immediately regretted when her eyes became tearful. I sighed. "I always knew it made more sense. Go for it."

"I don't want to leave you alone."

"I can find another room mate," I said. "I can find another apartment."

"You can stay here," Alice replied immediately. "I'll still help with the rent."

"No! No, I can do it. I can cope with the rent." I couldn't let Alice take care of me for all my life. I was strong. I could do this.

"Just until you find another room mate?" she bargained.

"I can do it."

"Bella," she said softly. She placed her hand on mine. "The rent on this place is a lot. It's a catch. You're not going to be able to afford it on your own."

I knew this. The apartment was pretty amazing, with a great view, three bedrooms (each with an en suite) and a moderately sized kitchen. For two twenty something year olds, it was amazing. I didn't want to leave.

"Fine," I said. "I'll find another room mate."


End file.
